Although diversity, equity and inclusion is now in considerable disrepute and even regarded as unacceptable in many contexts, the vestiges of the DEI policies that invaded and polluted our society in recent years still permeate many sectors. One of these is health care.
I recently had occasion to view the slide presentation that every nurse in the obstetrics department of a major Washington hospital is required to view as a condition of employment. The focus of the presentation is “systemic racism,” which, according to the slides shown to the nurses, insidiously permeates obstetrics.
The premise of the presentation is that “Black women, on average, receive poorer quality of care” and, as a consequence of this lesser care, “have higher rates of suffering, complications, morbidity, and death than their White counterparts.” The cause of these poorer outcomes? The alleged implicit bias of all nurses…